Penn State Sports Magazine
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5 0 M A Y 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M OLYMPIC SPORTS T he first Big Ten series of Penn State's softball season didn't go the way coach Clarisa Crowell had hoped. The Nittany Lions had slipped past Maryland 2-1 in a 10-inning series opener, ending the game on a walk-off home run by sophomore Mel Coombs. But after that rousing moment, every- thing went Maryland's way. The Ter- rapins used a seven-run sixth inning to take the next game 8-3. The following day, they held Penn State scoreless over the final four innings to prevail 6-4 in the finale. The series was rough way to start the conference season, and it could easily have dredged up some bad memories of the 2021 campaign, in which Penn State played a Big Ten-only schedule and won just seven of its 41 games. But one of the qualities the Nittany Lions have shown this year has been resilience. They have not dwelled on losses, and the result has been a lot fewer of them. Heading into a three- game series against Indiana April 15-17, PSU was sporting a 23-15 overall record and a 5-4 mark in conference play. To Crowell, the improved results are, at least in part, a reflection of players' willingness to live in the moment rather than fixating on the past. "That's our sport. It's very different from football where you play one game a week," she said. "We play so many games that I think just by the nature of our sport, you can't dwell on what hap- pened. We have to be ready to go." Just as Crowell had hoped, Penn State bounced back decisively after its dis- appointing weekend against the Terps, defeating Bucknell 5-1 and then sweep- ing a three-game series against Purdue by a combined score of 26-5. But maybe hope isn't the right word. If anything, Crowell was expecting a bounce-back. "It's a part of our culture," she said. "I don't think it's necessarily one or two kids, I think it's the entire team believ- ing in that. Our captains have done a good job of stepping up, and like I told our team, one series is not indicative of the team that we are. We play so many games that we're not going to get caught up in [thinking like] that. "Yes, we didn't win the Maryland se- ries, we didn't reach our expectations. But our kids are resilient, and … I think that 1-0 mentality is something that the entire team has fully bought into." Penn State had another opportunity to show resilience in its three-game se- ries at Michigan in early April. The Wolverines were ranked 22nd at the time and hadn't lost a game to Penn State in 15 years. The first game in the series went just as all that history sug- gested it might, with Michigan romping to an 8-0 victory in five innings. But the next game was close, with the Lions tying the score on a fifth-inning home run by junior Cassie Lindmark before falling 2-1 when senior pitcher Bailey Parshall gave up an RBI single to end the game. In the series finale, Penn State finally broke through. The Lions got home runs from Lindmark and senior Ally Kurland, and Parshall came on in relief to get a 3-2 win. It was Penn State's first road victory over a ranked opponent since 2017. Parshall, a left-hander from Belle Vernon, Pa., admitted recently that she's more comfortable as a starter than as a reliever, telling GoPSUSports.com, "Starting is definitely my mojo." But no matter how she's been deployed, she's been one of Penn State's most reliable performers, ranking 38th nationally and third in the Big Ten with a 1.43 ERA. Parshall also has been a model of resilience — not just this season but throughout her career. She's been at Penn State through a coaching change, a canceled season and a 2021 season that was full of difficulties on and off the field due to COVID precautions. As Penn State enters the heart of its conference schedule, she knows that the team's previous struggles are go- ing to drive down expectations, at least outside the program. But rather than looking at that as a negative, she sees it as an opportunity. "We're definitely the underdogs just because of the scores last year, and people are definitely going to underes- timate us," Parshall said. "I'm excited for that, because we have a lot to show this year. We have great hitting, great defense. Pitching is on-point as of now, and moving forward I'd like to see us have a really good seed going into the Big Ten Tournament." ■ In just her second season at Penn State, coach Clarisa Crowell has guided Penn State to a 23-15 start, including the team's first victory over Michigan since 2007. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS The Tough Get Going Penn State shows its resiliency as the Big Ten softball season heats up MATT HERB | MATT@BLUEWHITEONLINE.COM